Mobile library outreach bus inspires Bulmer school pupils to embrace reading

A campaign seeking to inspire youngsters to spread their reading horizons is gathering momentum, as a mobile library visited rural schoolchildren this month.

Pupils at St Andrew’s Primary School in Bulmer welcomed the Essex Mobile Library’s Outreach Bus last week, as part of a £1million drive to promote literacy among young people, whose education was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Created by the Essex Education Task Force and funded by Essex County Council, the Essex Year of Reading Campaign is providing each child with a free library card, enabling access to all materials at the county’s libraries.

It is hoped that this will help ensure that every pupil in the county is able to read at their age level or above by the time they leave school.

Unlike the school library service, which loans books to schools, the outreach bus brought a wide range of reading materials that could be lent directly to pupils, who can then return them at any Essex library.

Carol Everard, deputy headteacher at St Andrew’s Primary School, said: “In rural areas such as ours, parents and children find it hard sometimes to access a library due to limited public transport.

“The mobile outreach library gives our children access to high quality materials and helps to broaden their horizons.

“In school, we have a high focus on reading and books. The mobile library visit was a great addition to our current library.”

Cllr Tony Ball, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for education excellence, skills and employability, said: “Reading is a key skill that can unlock access to lots of other areas of education and opportunities for pupils, particularly as they grow.

“We have always been very clear with the Essex Year of Reading that every child would have the opportunity to get involved and be able to discover a lifelong love of reading.

“By working with the Essex Library Service and bringing reading materials to children who, for many different reasons, may not be able to visit a library outside of school, we are able to achieve that.”